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$24 Purchase, The

Date produced: 1952

Filmmaker(s):

Terry Manos

Description:

"Terry Manos is one New Yorker who has outdone himself (and all other native or visiting filmers) in recording on film the glittering surface of the world's greatest metropolis and America's premier tourist attraction. For The $24 Purchase is authoritatively stamped with the unfailing precision of the Manos technique, the perfection of his lighting and exposures, the beauty and balance of his compositions. Accompanying it is a musical score (admirably recorded) that is generally fresh and germane to the subject, a narrative that (although burdened unduly by the factual trivia of the tourist barker) is delivered with professional skill. In other words, here is a superb visual document. But a document only. For The $24 Purchase records only that surface city which the eye may see. Missing from its makeup are the searching, individual comments on that city of one human mind. Missing also — and perhaps more importantly — are the evocative emotions of one human heart, a heart reacting freely and unafraid of emotion to Manhattan's towers and tenements, to her opulent splendor and her economic ghettos. The film — tragically, if you will — has omitted any message. And, perhaps only by the margin of this omission, it has missed greatness as well." Movie Makers, Dec. 1952, 340.


104, The

Date produced: 1965

Filmmaker(s):

Oscar H. Horovitz

Description:

"The 104 is a serious, factual recount of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Mass., early in the 17th Century in terms of what one sees and finds in the vicinity of Plymouth Rock today. The rock itself is the legendary start of it all, followed by glimpses of wax figures that have been created to resemble some of the monuments and other scenes in the area" PSA Journal, Sept. 1965, 51.


201-203

Date produced: 1967

Filmmaker(s):

Krishna Shah

Description:

"201-203 tells the simple story of man and woman, the alienated anti-heroes from two civilizations at the opposite ends of the spectrum, Asian and America. They try to make contact, through reality as well as fantasy, against a backdrop of technology and pop theology. Well acted and well photographed" PSA Journal, Aug. 1967, 36.


Acapulco—Mexican Riviera

Date produced: 1951

Filmmaker(s):

Harold Ramser

Description:

"Harold Ramser's 'Acapulco—Mexican Riviera' is a beautiful Kodachrome documentary of the colorful Mexican resort city." American Cinematographer, May 1952, 224.


Adventure on the Colorado

Date produced: 1947

Filmmaker(s):

Alton Morton

Description:

"Adventure on the Colorado, by Al Morton, comprises 1,600 feet of film and (at twenty four frames a second) forty eight minutes of screen time. In it, six men in two boats travel down the Colorado River from Moab, in southeastern Utah, to Lee's Ferry, in northern Arizona. Taking fifteen days, the trip covered some 300 miles, forty of which were through cataracts already claiming twenty nine lives. These are the bare and simple facts of the case. But these facts cannot begin to tell the story of Mr. Mortons epic adventure. And mind you, we are not concerned here with the breath taking dangers of the trip itself — although these alone were awesome and challenging. We are concerned only with Mr. Morton's filming adventures and the bright, indomitable story of them as recorded so stirringly in his film. That story is one of inflexible resolve against all compromise, even in the face of well nigh impossible circumstance. At one point in the picture, Mr. Morton shows us a rugged and precipitous approach to the river known as "Hole in the Rock." It was through this narrow passage that, years ago, a little band of Mormons, sent to colonize the San Juan country, brought their wagons and their belongings. In laces where the chasm had narrowed so sharply as to block the cavalcade, they dismantled the wagons and packed them through on their backs. For they had set out to cross the river — and cross it they did. Mr. Morton's filming resolve must have been of that same high order — almost religious in its intensity. As the down-river journey grew ever more arduous, you waited with sympathetic understanding for those not quite perfect scenes which the incredible conditions must surely dictate. You were ready to make allowances, to accept the imperfect as relative perfection --under the circumstances. Not so with Mr. Morion. There was no compromise with quality in the Morton picture plan. He set out to film the river, and film it he did. Adventure on, the Colorado is a moving and splendid epic, recording both a gallant adventure and a glowing achievement." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 513.


Ah! Wilderness

Date produced: 1950

Filmmaker(s):

Charles H. Benjamin

Description:

"Ah! Wilderness: The stark beauty of remote mountain and plain areas, as yet untouched by the unrelenting surge of modern civilization, has been caught by Charles Benjamin's camera and Kodachrome film. Adapted from the book Stone Dust, by Frank Ernest Hill, Benjamin's film opens with scenes of mountain peaks and passes in winter- peaks mantled in snow, and trickling brooks that somehow have evaded the wintry grip of Jack Frost. The picture progresses in a like manner through Spring, Summer and Autumn, rendering a pictorial account of the ever-changing seasons in one of the few remaining wilderness areas of America. The picture discloses skillful camera handling as well as a talent for building interesting continuity through artful editing and titling." American Cinematographer, May 1951, 189


Ahead, Inc.

Date produced: 1966

Description:

"Ahead, Inc. depicts the movement in Flint, Michigan, to assist the handicapped in earning their own way in the world" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 34.


Albany’s Tulip Festival

Date produced: 1950

Filmmaker(s):

Helen C. Welsh

Description:

"With the help of almost unbelievable luck from the weather man, Helen C. Welsh has achieved a high level of what is essentially newsreel filming. Her subject matter is in itself appealing — displays of tulips in a public park, children wearing amazing holiday headgear, dancers performing Old World figures, all climaxed by the pageantry of the coronation of a new king and queen of the festival. But Miss Welsh handles it expertly. Her viewpoints are varied and her camera work accomplished, while a wisely sparse and well recorded narrative ties the whole presentation into an attractive package. Albany's Tulip Festival is colorful, entertaining and fulsome as a record of a city's spring holiday." Movie Makers, Dec. 1950, 464.


America

Date produced: 1930

Filmmaker(s):

William H. Barlow

Description:

"America, among the three films given special mention, is an ambitious scenic epic being compiled by William H. Barlow. The plan is to cover all of the prominent beauty spots of this country, building the sequences of them into a monumental film document. Yet each reel is so planned and titled that it can be separately screened. The reels that have already been completed present a combination of beautiful photography, intelligent planning and editing and skillful titling that has not been surpassed in similar professional work." Movie Makers, Dec. 1930, 788.


Another Day

Date produced: 1934

Filmmaker(s):

Leslie P. Thatcher

Description:

"Among the Ten Best, Another Day, by Leslie Thatcher, ACL, is a splendid example of the relatively simple avant garde film, so popular among European amateurs but so seldom attempted by even the advanced workers of the American continent. Set against the background of Toronto, Another Day portrays in semi abstract fashion the dramatic changes which overtake the life and tempo of a great city as Saturday crosses the noontime deadline from work to play. Mr. Thatcher's conception of this theme is clean cut, his execution suave and technically brilliant. Dissolves, wipeoffs and double exposure are blended intelligently with matchless straight photography to enhance the beauty of striking angles and compositions. With the subject matter of such films ready to the hand of every amateur cameraman, it is a strange phenomenon that to date they are not attempted more often." Movie Makers, Dec. 1934, 513, 534.


Total Pages: 35